Being Still

Blogging 101, Day Nine: Inspire Yourself

I’m still at it, working hard at being a student with the blogging university and having a blast! I am so overwhelmed by all the support and love people have in our community. It’s really all about sharing and connecting and I am standing, screaming, “Yes I get you!” or “Wow, just wow” or “Really? That’s amazing” or “Thank you for taking me there with that post”. I think if there was a webcam or some video device that showed us how we react when reading each other’s posts and blogs, some of it would blow our minds. Already the comments and interaction are a wonderful thing to have.

The exercise is about inspiring myself and using my About Me page as a tool towards creating that experience. When I read my page again, the mind is what shot out at me. After all, I have a header with a neuron firing and that only occurs when it responds to stimuli. All of this is very stimulating indeed. I believe that everything, good and bad is given birth in the mind. We are the creators of our own reality. I think to be the best human being I can possibly be, I need to have the highest relationship with myself which for me means a collaboration between my heart and my mind.

There was a time in my life where I was desperate to find that relationship but the more I craved it, the more difficult it seemed. Then one day in my search, I became so frustrated that I abandoned everything that I was doing and visited a Buddhist Temple. Just like that. The wonders of what spontaneity can do. This was a place that I use to pass on my journey in and out of a neighbourhood in my father’s hometown. I had often looked at it and wondered what it was like inside. The monks there were very open and friendly. I sat with one and we started talking. He asked me what I wanted for myself and why I seemed so perturbed? I told him that I was looking for enlightenment. He chuckled and smiled answering, “Why are you running so fast? Enlightenment is like your shadow. The faster you run, the further away it will be from you. Be calm, stand still and it will be right there with you”. I know it sounds so simple and maybe even a little cliché but the moment he said that, perhaps it was the way he did it too, something fell into place and this peace and serenity replaced the anxiety and frustration. I wanted to jump up and hug the life out of him but I knew better and just grinned from ear to ear, looking at him but saying nothing. He looked back at me with that perpetual smile and with cheekiness he told me that I was welcome which sent us both into a series of laughter. I will never forget that moment. I still remember the trees around us, some of them had signs with mantras written on them and others with phrases like “eat to live”, the lazy dogs basking in the sun, the smell of sandalwood from the incense burning and the both of us sitting there and laughing together. I had learned how to just BE. Just…like…that! My heart opened to his wisdom and my mind made it so.

The Laughing Buddha

That is what I am doing here with this blog. I am being me, sharing my thoughts and ideas in the form of posts with a group of people who do exactly the same thing but in their own beautiful unique way. There are no real rules, just guidance. There is no judgement, just opinion and sharing. It is an open space for us all to just be.